Scania and HAVI Pilot Autonomous Truck for Commercial Goods in Europe
Scania and HAVI Supply Chain have launched Europe's first pilot of a fully autonomous vehicle carrying commercial goods on public roads. The trial operates between logistics hubs.
Vehicle manufacturer Scania and logistics firm HAVI Supply Chain have initiated a pilot program, marking Europe's first deployment of a fully autonomous truck for commercial goods transport on public roads. The trial is conducted under regular traffic conditions between Södertälje and Jönköping, covering approximately 300 kilometers.
The route is part of HAVI's broader logistics flow, where goods are transported between distribution centers using the autonomous vehicle. The initial and final segments of the journey continue to be handled by manually driven trucks. The project aims to assess the effectiveness and suitability of autonomous trucking within a hub-to-hub operational model.
Scania Project Manager Robert Melin Mori highlighted the ongoing transformation in the transport industry, citing driver shortages and shrinking margins as reasons for an immediate shift towards autonomous technology. "We need to learn about autonomous operations now so that we are ready as soon as the technology is ready," Mori stated.
The two companies have a history of collaboration on electrified transport initiatives. HAVI Director of Sustainability & Innovation, Massimo D’Alessandro, described the new pilot as holding "enormous promise" for future partnership and the wider supply chain sector.